image description — A vigil was held by the Love of T, a foundation created in memory of Pittsfield resident Teresa Fitzgerald who died by suicide on May 2, 2021.

Love of T Foundation Marks 2023 Successes, Gears Up For Fundraiser

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:53AM / Friday, February 23, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — 2023 was a robust year for the Love of T Foundation, dedicated to closing the gap in Berkshire County's behavioral health care.

After a year of connecting individuals with peer support and welcoming new staff members, the foundation is gearing up for its sold-out "Dance the Blues Away" gala on Saturday at the Berkshire Hills Country Club.

Last year, the event raised over $20,000 for the foundation's "Berkshire County Peer Connection," providing 230 hours of one-on-one peer support to 68 individuals navigating suicide. This year, the goal is to provide 520 hours of peer support to 172 individuals.

"It's a really good event and really fun," Founder Luke Fitzgerald said.

"It goes towards the programming and we hope to be able to expand the programming with more nights at the drop-in center, hopefully in North County and even South County, and then I'd like to long term have a whole office and a whole team."

Fitzgerald started Love of T in 2021 after his mother Teresa "T" died of suicide. He explained that he essentially wrote her obituary and immediately began working on the foundation, which recently marked two years as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

"It was made painfully clear that change was needed in behavioral healthcare services here in Berkshire County. Teresa was someone who was always there for family, friends, neighbors, whoever it was that needed her. She would always, without hesitation, take time to spend hours on the phone or just sit with somebody who just needed an ear," the foundation's brochure reads.

"Teresa's love and care for her community is exactly how Love of T aims to close the gaps in behavioral health care in Berkshire County."

Berkshire County has the second-highest suicide rate in the state and the local mental health system is said to be overloaded with patients and not enough clinicians. The Berkshire Benchmarks 2023 State of the County Update reports that "Opioid-related deaths have continued to rise in Berkshire County. Suicide rates have also increased, a potential indicator that mental health issues have worsened in the region."

Love of T provides peer support, which is a non-clinical method that uses peer specialists who have lived experience and are trained to support others' navigation of mental health, substance abuse, or other psychological trauma. Mental Health America reports that peer support helps decrease hospitalization rates and in-patient services and decreases the stigma.

Programming began in June and includes weekly support groups, one-on-one support, and weekly drop-in sessions. Last year, two peer support workers and a managing director were hired. Staff attended over 40 hours of training and conferences in the sector.

Every Monday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., drop-in sessions are hosted at Billy J's Elm Street Java where peer support workers have helped connect individuals with resources for housing, employment, and more to help them feel less alone.

Once a week, a support group for "Navigating Suicidal Thoughts" is held at the Pomeroy House, which is run by the Brien Center and is an alternative option to inpatient psychiatric hospitalization.

"We really try to be the non-clinical route," Fitzgerald said. "They can definitely help people navigate what they are already doing or connect them with other resources that they might not be aware of but the peer-to-peer model is a nonclinical, essentially meeting somebody exactly where they are at and taking care of the whole person."

Fitzgerald explained that the programming is in "just the very beginning" and is evolving with a goal of connecting every person in the county struggling with suicidal thoughts to a peer specialist.

Love of T partners with NAMI Berkshire, the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention, the Brien Center, and the partial unit at Berkshire Medical Center.

The "Dance the Blues Away" gala will be held at Berkshire Hills Country Club on February 24 at 5:30 p.m. It includes dinner by KJ Nosh, music by the Misty Blues, and a silent auction. Though the event is sold out, those who wish to be placed on the waitlist are asked to contact Serena Johnson at serena@loveoft.org.

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Healey Announces Housing Development Supports at Former Pittsfield Bank

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Gov. Maura Healey poses with the bank's old safe. The building is being refurbished for housing by Allegrone Companies. The project is being supported by a commercial tax credit and a $1.8M MassWorks grant for infrastructure improvements.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gov. Maura Healey stood in the former Berkshire County Savings Bank on Tuesday to announce housing initiatives that are expected to bring more than 1,300 units online.

"People come here from all over the world. We want them to stay here, and we want kids who grew up here to be able to afford to stay here, but the problem is that for decades, we just weren't building enough housing to keep up with demand," she said.

"And you guys know what happens when there isn't enough supply: prices go up. We have among the lowest vacancy rates in the country, so against that challenge, we made it our priority from day one to build more homes as quickly as possible."

Approximately $8.4 million from the new Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) is designed help communities transform empty or rundown commercial buildings into new homes along with $139.5 million in low-income housing tax credits and subsidies through the Affordable Housing Development grant program.

The historic 24 North St. with a view of Park Square has been vacant for about two years, and Allegrone Companies plans to redevelop it and 30-34 North St. into 23 mixed-income units. The administration announced its Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) and the Affordable Housing Development grant program as ways to aid housing production, both of which Pittsfield will benefit from.

The state is partnering with Hearthway for the construction of 47 affordable units on Linden Street, utilizing the former Polish Community Club and new construction, and Allegrone for its redevelopment of the block.

The Linden Street project is one of the 15 rental developments the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is supporting through $25.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, $32.4 million in state low-income housing tax credits, and $81.4 million in subsidies.

Allegrone's project is supported by the commercial tax credit and was recently awarded $1,800,000 from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said she fully comprehends the importance of housing and how crushing it is in communities that need it and want to build, but face difficulties with high construction costs.

"Housing is the key to keeping people in the community in a safe way and giving them an opportunity to fill those many roles that we need throughout the Commonwealth in cities and towns, large and small, urban and rural, these are all important work. Having somebody fix your boiler, fix your car, we want those individuals to be able to live in our communities as well, particularly in our gateway cities," she said.

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